Another Assassination Attempt, More Fertilizer for Conspiracy Theories

Another Assassination Attempt, More Fertilizer for Conspiracy Theories

From The Intercept Briefing by The Intercept

May 1, 2026 · 46 min · Season 3 · Episode 19

About this episode

The episode discusses a failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and features an interview with Rep. Jamie Raskin about political rhetoric and conspiracy theories.

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner last weekend became the site of the third failed attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump. “I remember the feeling was very similar to when it was clear that the House had been invaded on January 6, 2021,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who was in attendance, tells The Intercept Briefing. “Everybody was afraid that somebody had come in with an AR-15 or something like that.” This week on the podcast, host Akela Lacy speaks to Raskin about his experience at the dinner and later being asked by CNN’s Dana Bash about whether he’s thinking twice about his “heated rhetoric” toward Trump. “It was curious that, in the wake of this terrible episode, that she would try to equate the way that Democrats talk and the way that President Trump talks,” says Raskin. “He calls people crazy, insane. He calls people evil, wicked. He will buttonhole reporters and tell them that they're stupid, they're ugly . ... But we try to keep it at the level of policies and their actions.” Some examples, which Raskin discusses, is his forthcoming investigation into Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s role in the administration and conflicts of interest, and his fight in…

People in this episode

Host: Akela Lacy

Guest: Jamie Raskin

Topics covered

  • assassination attempt
  • political rhetoric
  • Trump administration
  • conspiracy theories
  • Congress
  • surveillance

Keywords

  • assassination
  • Trump
  • Raskin
  • politics
  • conspiracy theories
  • surveillance
  • White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CNN

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